Wirex will support USD Coin (USDC) on Stellar’s blockchain

Wirex, the digital payment platform, in collaboration with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), announced that it will support USD Coin (USDC) built on Stellar’s Blockchain. 

Wirex adds USDC on Stellar’s Blockchain in its app

During Stellar’s fourth annual Meridian conference in Rome, Wirex announced the launch of USD Coin (USDC) on Stellar’s Blockchain within its digital payments app.  

#BREAKING Live from #Meridien2022 in #Rome: Great news @StellarOrg fans! #USDC on #Stellar is now available in-app 🌟
Learn more: https://t.co/1H9xCfPwzl pic.twitter.com/TxcxfA1gMf

— Wirex (@wirexapp) October 11, 2022

“BREAKING Live from #Meridien2022 in #Rome: Great news @StellarOrg fans! #USDC on #Stellar is now available in-app.”

The Wirex app allows users to instantly save or spend USDC in real life using the company’s cryptocurrency-enabled debit card. 

Not only that, for every purchase made in-store or online, users can also earn up to 8% in WXT rewards. 

USDC is a stablecoin backed entirely by reserves and issued by Circle, a regulated US fintech, and is always redeemable 1:1 in US dollars. Circle’s reserves are held by US financial institutions and monitored monthly by an independent and reputable firm, Grant Thornton LLP.

Wirex and support for the USDC stablecoin on Stellar and collaboration with SDF

Wirex’s support for the stablecoin built on Stellar is the result of a collaboration with Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the nonprofit organization that supports the growth and development of the Stellar network.

In this regard, Wirex Chief Growth Officer Kiel Dowlin said:

“As a strong advocate for the digital economy, I believe that stablecoins will play a significant role due to the payment utility. Expanding multi-chain support for stablecoins such as USDC will offer further convenience for users seeking low-cost transactions to support micro-payment use cases globally.”

Ada Vaughan, Growth Strategist at SDF, also commented on the new announcement as follows:

“We saw an opportunity to leverage Wirex’s user-friendly app and debit card along with the Stellar network’s speed and near zero transaction cost, effectively making digital assets more useful than ever. Through this collaboration, we’re excited to put access to USDC on Stellar into the hands of millions of consumers across 39 countries.”

USD Coin getting closer to Tether

Circle’s stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC) appears to be growing rapidly by staying behind the leading stablecoin by market capitalization, Tether (USDT). 

Indeed, as of today, USDC’s total market cap is $48 billion versus USDT’s more than $68 billion. A gap of only $20 billion.

The two stablecoins had been analyzed in early July, and while USDT has seen a collapse in its market cap due to the explosion of the Terra ecosystem, USDC seems to have recovered ground. 

As of late May 2022, USDT’s total market capitalization had dropped from $83 billion to $72 billion, while USDC’s had increased from $48 billion to $53 billion.